Warner+Jackson+et+al+vs+Superintendent+of+Public+Instruction


 * Completed by Jenna Bass and Joc'Lene Alston

Warner Jackson et al vs Superintendent of Public Instruction Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Dane County Circuit, Branch 17 Opinion Filed June 10, 1998 Oral Argument March 4, 1998 Background: The Milwaukee Public Schools realized that in the late 1980’s the dropout rate for high-school students was at 14.4% vs. 3.11% in the rest of Wisconsin. Legislative action was taken and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) was enacted. This program allowed any student in graded K-12 who resides in the city of Milwaukee might attend any nonsectarian private school located in the city by voucher programs. There were also other requirements: family income cannot exceed 1.75 times the federal poverty level, no more than 49% of a private school’s total enrollment could consist of pupils attending under the MPCP. The original MPCP also required that the state superintendent of public instruction to report student achievement, attendence, discipline, and parental involvement. The original also requiredthe superintendent to monitor the students' performance while they were enrolled in the program. In 1995, Governor Thompson signed into law, an amendment to the MPCP that eliminated prohibition on participation by religious schools in the MPCP, enlarged number of students allowed to participate, the Superintendent now would make checks payable to the pupil’s parent or guardian and sent directly to the private school.
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Decision and Rationale: Plaintiff’s first claim that the amended MPCP violates the Wisconsin Constitution, I.e., the right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed. Plaintiffs’ claim focused on two provisions: “no person can be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry without consent, “no money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies or religious or theological seminaries. Judge Paul B. Higginbotham ruled that the vouchers for religious schools was in fact illegal and violated the Wisconsin Constitution.

Impact on Education: This case seems important to education boards across the board because many times have implemented vouchers in attempt to help students coming from a low socioeconomic status receive a high-quality education.We feel that the intentions were legitimate for the vouchers, but the amended version that almost “forced” religion on some students was unfair and indeed unconstitutional.

Quiz Question: What was the primary reason that the Milwaukee vouchers were found illegal and unconstitutional? 1. religion 2. spending revenue 3. racial discrimination